A custody officer is an attested

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

, usually of the rank of sergeant, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

who works in a

custody suite {{Unreferenced, date=June 2011 A custody suite is an area within a police station in the United Kingdom designed and adapted to process and detain those who have been arrested, or who are there for purposes such as answering bail. Historically, a ...

. A custody officer is in charge of the protection and transportation of

detainees Detention is the process whereby a State (polity), state or private citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their personal freedom, freedom or liberty at that time. This can be due to (pending) criminal charges preferred against the individu ...

and/ or prisoners between a jail or prison and court. Most custody officers in the

are also limited commissioned

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

officers and can only enforce the laws that directly pertain to custody enforcement.North Yorkshire Police: Administration of Justice – Custody Suite

England and Wales

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is ...

, the custody officer must make a decision to authorise or refuse the detention of any detainee presented before him. This also applies to detainees presented before them by other public servants with power of arrest who may use the suite from time to time, for example revenue and customs officers and

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

officers. The officer presents the arrested person to the custody officer and explains the circumstances of the arrest, with further detention of the person being authorised if the custody officer deems it necessary to do so. It is not the custody officer's duty to determine whether the arrest was lawful or not, code G of PACE states that this duty rests on the arresting officer. The custody officer must ensure that during the whole time the person is detained at the custody suite, police officers and police staff who deal with the detained person adhere to the PACE Codes of Practice regarding the

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical th ...

and treatment of persons arrested. These Codes of Practice include various requirements regarding time limits and record keeping for certain procedures that may take place whilst the person is in custody and the custody officer is responsible for ensuring these too.

Scotland

The custody sergeant (custody supervisor) is the authorising sergeant for the detention of the accused. Under section 7 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, this is done by the authoriser doing what is called a "section 14 test". If both parts of this test are satisfactory, the detention will proceed. A person who has been detained or arrested is taken to a police station and the person is booked into custody, often by a member of the police service of Scotland, usually a police constable or higher; however, it can also be done by other agencies such as GEOAmey, Home Office, Immigration Enforcement and border agency. As the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 does not apply in Scotland, the care of people in custody is governed by different (but very similar) guidance under the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016

Notes

{{reflist Police positions in the United Kingdom